The Mattapoisett School Committee voted during Tuesday night’s meeting to approve the two-year School Improvement Plan, making it four out of four districts.
The next step will be to looking at data including MCAS testing results, but the emphasis on the October 26 meeting was on the synergy established between the Old Rochester Regional District and the local elementary schools, in this case Mattapoisett’s.
Principals Rose Bowman and Kevin Tavares rolled out the two-year School Improvement Plan for the Mattapoisett School Committee.
In discussing the development of the School Council, Bowman told the committee that teacher-parent parity is critical so the council was built around parental involvement first and then matched with faculty and an administrator to act as a facilitator.
“The PTA has always worked for us,” said Bowman.
Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson introduced the meat of the presentation by referring to the district’s Acceleration Road Map. Nelson told the committee that district leadership teams have presented to school committees on Vision 2023 and targets.
The continuity of district objectives and the implementation of 21st century learning, skills and project-based learning depends on grade-level specialists. Tavares outlined how media, information and technology literacy is being taught with a schedule and goals to share at least one project with peers and, later, presentations outside the classroom.
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Dr. Jannell Pearson-Campbell will be involved to see to it that core skills are present in learning plans.
“The skills that they put in this year will be used next year,” said Tavares.
In her report on social-emotional learning, Bowman said that not being able to safely meet with the entire student body on a daily basis inside the gymnasium has made the importance of those meetings resonate.
The 2021-22 school year is about “trying to build that community again,” said Bowman. “We have to separate the kids in the morning, but that unity starts in school. … Even the youngest ones, when you hand the baton to them and say, ‘I trust you,’ it’s amazing how they step to the plate.”
Theories on student behavior have changed, said Bowman, noting the philosophical shift from the celebration of quietness to being able to share one’s feelings.
“The Panorama Survey is so critically important. When you ask the children a question, they tell the truth. … When you feel safe and protected, you can learn anything,” she said. “The responsive classroom is something that is ongoing.”
A four-day training session for teachers and paraprofessionals begins on November 12.
“Our practice has always been, you have to talk to the child,” said Bowman. “You find, when children are making a choice that you wish they hadn’t, you can bring them back to that. … We’re here to support them not in a punitive way” but with self awareness and management skills.
Bowman thanked the Mattapoisett Police Department and Resource Officer Matt McGraw for their support of the current initiatives.
“You don’t want to frighten them, you want to empower them,” said Bowman.
Educational tools and the implementation of project-based learning programs with targeted goals were also discussed.
Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber shared the final year-to-date budget by the department through the June 2021 closeout of FY21, announcing that $215 remains in the overall operating budget for the 2020-21 academic year.
The 2021-22 operating budget of $7,580,872 will see 82 percent go to student instruction obligations. Barber estimated that $915,000 remains unencumbered but will decrease over time via substitute-teacher coverage.
Lunch counts are up with a full enrollment as opposed to the hybrid division of the student body last year. Barber said the first meal is free for students and that those wishing to access more food requires a premium. Barber said many vendors are still delivering on a weekly basis, affecting inventories and causing last-minute menu changes.
Barber referred to HVAC inspections in 30 classrooms and said bottled water was available in the schools per Facilities Director Gene Jones. Nelson took the opportunity to thank Jones and Jill Henesy for their leadership especially during the boil-water order.
Committee member Carly Lavin asked about the tents and the budget effects of the boil-water order. Nelson said the Town of Mattapoisett worked with the schools to make sure the buildings had what they needed for water with no budget impact. Nelson said a damaged tent has had repair parts but will need to be brought down for the winter.
“I think we’re back to the place where mask breaks are weather dependent,” said Lavin.
Nelson announced that Patricia Cooney, a certified teacher, will instruct Grade 2 students in Mattapoisett.
Pearson-Campbell announced that a parent informational session is coming up on November 15.
Student Services Director Craig Davidson announced a November 2 CEPAC meeting that will include tier-focused monitoring sponsored by DESE; parents can participate. He also announced a January 26 preschool screening event.
“We’re moving forward. It’s exciting, it can be overwhelming at times. … so much good happening in our schools,” said Nelson.
Earlier Tuesday, Nelson issued a press release announcing the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) mask mandate for the current school year. DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley announced that the state will extend the school mask mandate through at least Jan. 15, 2022.
In his Chairperson’s Report, Jim Muse said that a “mini emergency” caused him to miss a meeting, prompting the realization that in 10 years sitting on the district and town committees as well as special meetings totaling in the hundreds, it occurred to him that he had never had that happen.
For Muse, the incident brought to mind the commitment of his colleagues.
“It is almost incalculable how many hours are spent. … The work is done, decisions are made, every day. It’s pivotal to making things work,” he said. “To that end … I have to tell you just the meeting portion is an enormous, enormous task, and it is one of the most important methods of our communicating. It is worth a lot more than the two hours … so thank you to all of you and special thanks to the administrators in our Central Office and what they do.”
Tuesday night’s meeting began with the vote to approve two donations.
Kristen McCormack appeared via Zoom to say that her mother, retired, 90-year-old teacher Luice Moncevitch, only wants to be remembered by a bench at Center School. To that end, a location was sought and the family has committed to pay for the stone bench that will be placed in the spring. The inscription, to be authored by Moncevitch, will be approved in a subsequent vote. “If you know my mom, she would want to pick that out herself,” said McCormack.
Nelson thanked McCormack for the donation and for her mother’s long service to the community.
“Recognizing our retired teachers is something we should do, absolutely no less,” said Muse.
Committee member Tiffini Reedy said she is excited by knowing Moncevitch in another capacity.
The second donation, from Deborah Antin and also announced by Bowman, is a pair of watercolor paintings for a reading organization. Antin bought them at a charity auction and thinks they would fit nicely in the Center School library.
Lavin suggested the committee’s vote be conditioned on the results of due diligence of a background check on artist Peter H. Reynolds. Lavin also suggested checking in with the Anti-Racism Subcommittee to see if there are works of art from that group’s connections that deem the same consideration.
The public meeting ended at 8:43 pm, and the committee entered executive session, only returning to adjourn.
Originally scheduled to meet again on Monday, November 1, the committee opted to skip that date and keep its date to meet again on Monday, December 6, at 6:30 pm.
Mattapoisett School Committee
By Mick Colageo